Pieces
by Enchanter468
Summary: AU Oneshot. After the dust settles, putting your life and friendships back together is no small task, but picking up the pieces is easier if you have help from someone you love.


Disclaimer: I don't own _Code Geass_ or any of its characters

**Pieces**

Suzaku couldn't help staring at the photograph. It was stupid, of course; he shouldn't be dwelling on the past, especially not when he _should_ be sleeping, but it was easier than worrying about the future.

The picture in question dated back to before the invasion. It was a simple image, really. Suzaku and Lelouch stood in a field. The car that had taken them to the location was just visible at the right edge of the frame, and behind them, green grass stretched out into the distance, the mountains looming in the background. Both boys were flashing grins at the camera.

That was a long time ago, before the Britannian army materialized over those mountains; before Lelouch organized and led a rebellion against the occupying forces; before Suzaku stood against him in battle.

Neither of them had smiled liked they had in that picture for a long time.

Sighing, Suzaku put the photograph down, settling back onto the sofa. Everyone knew how much he had hated the things that Zero did; how angry he had become at Lelouch. But the part that few people knew was how much Suzaku didn't _want_ to be angry at him. Lelouch and he had been the best of friends, and while he didn't know how Lelouch felt, Suzaku hated the enmity that had risen between them.

Of course, there had been nothing he could do to stop it. While his and Lelouch's destination was the same, they had followed different moral roads to reach it, and they always seemed to be in each other's way. This had only made the honorary Britannian feel worse.

_Of course, things are very different now,_ he thought. Japan was an independent nation again, and the fighting had stopped, at least here. Suzaku's stay at a hotel here in Tokyo was part of what, he supposed, could be called a personal reparations process.

Of course, that was the problem. Some things were harder to repair than others.

A soft rustle from the suite's bedroom area interrupted the brunette's melancholy. A moment later, slender arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders. Closing his eyes, Suzaku leaned back into the warmth of the embrace, and his guardian angel pressed a gentle kiss against his forehead.

"Why are you still up?" Euphemia asked. Suzaku absentmindedly reached up and ran a hand through her pink tresses.

"I guess it's just, you know, tomorrow," he said. "I don't know if he'll even want to see me." The princess gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Try not to worry about it," she replied. "My brother is a good person. He'll at least listen to what you have to say."

"I hope so," Suzaku said. "What about you, though? Are you alright being here?" The number of people who knew about Geass was very small, and Euphemia was still widely known as the Massacre Princess. It wasn't her fault, but the official story, that she'd been exposed to some sort of hallucinogen, hadn't been accepted by the majority of the Japanese, and the real explanation for her behavior that day was so bizarre that most people wouldn't accept it anyway.

"I'll be alright," she said, not looking at Suzaku. "No one has said anything about it." Regardless of her statement, the princess's voice held enough sadness to put the lie to her words, and Suzaku ran a hand up and down her arm, doing his best to reassure her. After a moment, she walked around to the front of the sofa and sat down beside him. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "I should be helping you be ready to see Lelouch tomorrow, and I can't even do that."

"Don't be sorry," Suzaku said, wrapping his arms around her. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I just keep thinking I should apologize to everyone," Euphemia replied, a tear escaping and making its way down her cheek. "I want to, but I know it won't do any good." Suzaku reached out and brushed the tear away. Euphie had always had moments like this, when she would be unsure of herself; afraid that whatever she did would be of no help. These moments had happened more frequently since the massacre, and the fact that she had even tried to kill Suzaku a few times had only made it worse. Her compulsion to kill was gone, but it hadn't been forgotten, least of all by Euphemia herself.

"I don't blame you," Suzaku said. "What happened wasn't your fault. Some people can't or won't understand that, but it doesn't put you at fault for anything. You're a wonderful person, a lot better than me at any rate. I can't even handle meeting my best friend again." It wasn't just his nerves, for that matter. Suzaku had done things that Euphie never would have, like using Nunnally as a test to see if her brother remembered his identity as Zero. The fact that he'd been willing to do that was something Suzaku wasn't proud of, and Euphie hadn't been happy when she had found out.

Some of his thoughts must have become visible on his face, because Euphie reached out and touched his cheek.

"Please don't be sad," she said, laughing a little. "I'm going to be a wreck if the guy who's trying to comfort me starts crying." Suzaku laughed a little himself at that remark.

"Alright," he said, and then leaned forward and kissed her. "Whenever you feel sad or need someone to talk to, you can always come to me, and I promise I won't cry." Euphie giggled at that.

"And I promise," she said, "that when you go and see my brother tomorrow, no matter how worried you are, I'll be right there beside you."

"Thank you," Suzaku said quietly. Euphemia stood back up and pulled gently on his hand, leading him back to bed.

Neither of them could know what the future would hold. Whatever it was, though, knowing that they would face it together made things just a little bit easier.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, this is my first time writing for something other than _Gundam SEED_, so it may suck. If it does, sorry about that. As to why I wrote it, I can't exactly explain. I just wanted to do something for _Code Geass_, and Suzaku and Euphemia are one of my favorite pairings in the show (I appear to be one of the only people who doesn't hate Suzaku), so I ended up writing something for them. Speaking of Suzaku x Euphemia, as you can no doubt tell, this is an AU. It takes place after a CG fanfic I have planned, and I anticipate starting work on that story when R2 finishes.**

**Writing this story was kind of hard. Despite the fact that it's the shortest story I've ever written, I still had some difficulty getting started, mostly because I didn't know what the central concept of the story would be. At first, I thought it would center on Suzaku and Lelouch's relationship and Suzaku's problems with what he's done, but when I was writing the dialogue between Euphie and him, it hit me that she's gone through a lot too. After all, Euphemia has always had an intermittent problem with self-confidence, and if she survived the aftermath of the massacre and learned about it, she would no doubt have quite a few emotional problems as a result. Once I realized this, the story really became more about Suzaku and Euphemia's problems, and about the fact that even if they both have problems, they can still support each other.**


End file.
